Maryland’s uninsured motorist law requires every auto insurance policy sold in the state to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, with minimum limits of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage — in General You cannot waive it. The coverage pays your losses when the at-fault driver has no insurance, not enough insurance, or cannot be identified.
What Your UM Coverage Actually Pays For
UM coverage is built into your policy under Maryland Insurance Code §19-509, and its limits match the state’s minimum liability requirements.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-103 Your UM limits cannot exceed the liability limits on your policy, but you can raise them to match higher liability limits if you carry them. The additional premium is usually modest compared to the protection.
A vehicle counts as “uninsured” under §19-509 when the total liability coverage on it is less than your UM coverage, or when the available limits have already been paid down by other claimants from the same crash to below your UM amount.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509 – Uninsured Motorist Coverage — in General Hit-and-run drivers are treated as uninsured for claim purposes, and so are drivers whose own insurers have denied coverage because the driver violated the policy.3Maryland Insurance Administration. What You Need to Know About Uninsured Motorist Claims Property damage coverage includes loss of use of your vehicle.
Enhanced Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Since July 2018, Maryland insurers have been required to offer enhanced underinsured motorist (EUIM) coverage under §19-509.1 when you buy or renew a private passenger auto policy.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509.1 – Enhanced Underinsured Motorist Coverage If you elect it, EUIM replaces your standard UM coverage rather than sitting on top of it.
The advantage is the broader trigger. Standard UM only applies when the other driver’s liability limits fall below your UM limits. EUIM applies whenever the at-fault driver’s available coverage is less than your own losses, even if that driver’s limits equal or exceed yours, as long as those limits have been reduced by payments to other claimants.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 19-509.1 – Enhanced Underinsured Motorist Coverage EUIM also lets you stack limits across multiple vehicles on the same policy, which matters for families in a serious crash.
Once you elect EUIM, the election carries forward automatically on renewals and replacement policies until you change it in writing. If your insurer never offered it, ask at your next renewal.
Filing a UM Claim
A UM claim runs through your own insurance company, not the other driver’s. Report the accident to the police right away. Most policies require a police report and set a deadline for providing one; missing that deadline gives the insurer grounds to deny the claim.3Maryland Insurance Administration. What You Need to Know About Uninsured Motorist Claims
Notify your insurer promptly and send the police report number, the other driver’s information if you have it, medical records, and documentation of any property damage. Maryland’s general statute of limitations gives you three years from the date of the accident to file a civil action for your injuries.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code 5-101 – Limitations Period Your policy itself may impose a shorter deadline on the UM claim, so read it. Waiting until the last week on either clock is one of the most common ways valid claims get lost.
The Contributory Negligence Trap
Maryland is one of the few remaining pure contributory negligence jurisdictions. If you were even slightly at fault for the accident, you can be completely barred from any recovery under your UM coverage.3Maryland Insurance Administration. What You Need to Know About Uninsured Motorist Claims The Maryland Insurance Administration states the rule directly: UM coverage only applies if the other driver is found to be 100% at fault.
Most states use comparative negligence and reduce your recovery by your share of the fault. Maryland does not. A finding that you were 1% responsible defeats the claim entirely. That makes what happens at the scene decisive. Photographs, dashcam footage, independent witness names and phone numbers, and a police report that clearly identifies the other driver as the cause can be the difference between a paid claim and a denial. An ambiguous report that hints at shared fault gives your insurer an opening.
What Your Insurer Owes You
Maryland’s unfair claim settlement practices statute requires insurers to respond promptly to communications about claims, investigate using reasonable standards, and affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after you submit proof of loss.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 27-304 – Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Insurers cannot offer substantially less than a claim is worth to pressure a lowball settlement, and where liability is reasonably clear they must make a prompt, fair, good-faith attempt to settle.
For first-party property and casualty claims, which includes UM claims, insurers have an explicit statutory duty to act in good faith.7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Insurance 27-303 – Unfair Claim Settlement Practices If your insurer stalls or handles the claim unfairly, you can file a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Administration, which has authority to investigate insurer conduct.8Maryland Insurance Administration. Maryland Insurance Administration A complaint won’t resolve the claim on its own, but it creates a regulatory record. If the offer still doesn’t reflect your losses, talk to an attorney who handles insurance disputes, especially given how contributory negligence complicates these cases.
Penalties for Driving Without Insurance
Letting coverage lapse in Maryland triggers two separate sets of consequences: administrative penalties from the Motor Vehicle Administration and criminal charges if you drive.
MVA Fines and Registration Suspension
When your insurance lapses during your registration year, the MVA can assess a fine of $200 per vehicle for the first 30 days without coverage, plus $7 for each additional day starting on day 31. The total is capped at $3,500 per violation in a 12-month period.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-106
Your registration is suspended the moment coverage lapses and stays suspended until you replace the insurance and pay the fines. You have 48 hours after receiving suspension notice to surrender your registration materials to the MVA, and failing to do so can lead the MVA to suspend your driver’s license. A narrow exception exists if you return your plates within 10 days of the lapse and the vehicle was sold, you moved out of state, a salvage certificate was issued, or a dealer took possession.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-106
Criminal Charges
Knowingly driving without insurance is a misdemeanor under Maryland Transportation Code §17-107, and the criminal penalties are in addition to any MVA fines:
- First offense: up to one year in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.
- Second or subsequent offense: up to two years in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.
A conviction also adds five points to your driving record, which can produce a license suspension on its own.10Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 17-107
If No Private Insurer Will Cover You
Maryland runs a state-created insurer of last resort called Maryland Auto Insurance, formerly the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund. If two standard insurers have cancelled, non-renewed, or refused you, Maryland Auto will write a policy so you can drive legally.11Maryland Auto Insurance. Frequently Asked Questions
To qualify you must be a Maryland resident, own a vehicle registered in the state or hold a valid Maryland license, and not owe Maryland Auto any unpaid premium from a prior policy. Maryland Auto does not use credit scores, education level, or occupation as rating factors. Rates tend to run higher than the private market, and the program is meant as a bridge back to standard coverage. The practical point: being unable to find affordable coverage in the private market is not a defense to driving uninsured in Maryland, because this option exists.